Isaiah 23:1

Isaiah 23:1 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)The burden of Tyre. Howl, ye ships of Tarshish; for it is laid waste, so that there is no house, no entering in: from the land of Chittim it is revealed to them.
• New International Version (NIV)A prophecy against Tyre: Wail, you ships of Tarshish! For Tyre is destroyed and left without house or harbor. From the land of Cyprus word has come to them.
• English Standard Version (ESV)The oracle concerning Tyre. Wail, O ships of Tarshish, for Tyre is laid waste, without house or harbor! From the land of Cyprus it is revealed to them.
• New King James Version (NKJV)The burden against Tyre. Wail, you ships of Tarshish! For it is laid waste, So that there is no house, no harbor; From the land of Cyprus it is revealed to them.

Context of Isaiah 23:1

Here is a message about Tyre: Wail, you large ships, for the port is too devastated to enter! From the land of Cyprus this news is announced to them. 2Lament, you residents of the coast, you merchants of Sidon who travel over the sea, whose agents sail over 3the deep waters! Grain from the Shihor region, crops grown near the Nile she receives; she is the trade center of the nations.

Isaiah 23:1 word by word

מַשָּׂ֖א צֹ֑ר הֵילִ֣ילוּ׀ אֳנִיּ֣וֹת תַּרְשִׁ֗ישׁ כִּֽי־שֻׁדַּ֤ד מִבַּ֙יִת֙ מִבּ֔וֹא מֵאֶ֥רֶץ כִּתִּ֖ים נִגְלָה־לָֽמוֹ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• The burdenמַשָּׂאmaώώâ' · oracleH4853
• of Tyreצֹרtsôr tsôr · TyreH6865
• Howlיָלַלyâlal · to wailH3213
• ye shipsאֳנִיָּה'onîyâh · a shipH591
• of Tarshishתַּרְשִׁישׁtarshîysh · TarshishH8659
• for it is laid wasteשָׁדַדshâdad · to ruinH7703
• so that there is no houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: homeH1004
• no entering inבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): towardsH935
• from the landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
• of Chittimכִּתִּיkittîy kittîyîy · CyprusH3794
• it is revealedגָּלָהgâlâh · to reveal: revealH1540

Cross-references for Isaiah 23:1

• Jeremiah 25:15So the Lord, the God of Israel, spoke to me in a vision. “Take this cup from my hand. It is filled with the wine of my wrath. Take it and make the nations to whom I send you drink it.
• Jeremiah 47:4For the time has come to destroy all the Philistines. The time has come to destroy all the help that remains for Tyre and Sidon. For I, the Lord, will destroy the Philistines, that remnant that came from the island of Crete.
• Ezekiel 26:1In the eleventh year, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me:
• Ezekiel 27:1The word of the Lord came to me:
• Ezekiel 28:1The word of the Lord came to me:
• Joel 3:4Why are you doing these things to me, Tyre and Sidon? Are you trying to get even with me, land of Philistia? I will very quickly repay you for what you have done!
• Amos 1:9This is what the Lord says: “Because Tyre has committed three crimes – make that four! – I will not revoke my decree of judgment. They sold a whole community to Edom; they failed to observe a treaty of brotherhood.
• Zechariah 9:2as are those of Hamath also, which adjoins Damascus, and Tyre and Sidon, though they consider themselves to be very wise.
• Isaiah 15:2They went up to the temple, the people of Dibon went up to the high places to lament. Because of what happened to Nebo and Medeba, Moab wails. Every head is shaved bare, every beard is trimmed off.
• Revelation 18:17because in a single hour such great wealth has been destroyed!” And every ship’s captain, and all who sail along the coast – seamen, and all who make their living from the sea, stood a long way off
• Isaiah 2:16for all the large ships, for all the impressive ships.
• Isaiah 60:9Indeed, the coastlands look eagerly for me, the large ships are in the lead, bringing your sons from far away, along with their silver and gold, to honor the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has bestowed honor on you.
• 1 Kings 22:48Jehoshaphat built a fleet of large merchant ships to travel to Ophir for gold, but they never made the voyage because they were shipwrecked in Ezion Geber.
• 2 Chronicles 9:21The king had a fleet of large merchant ships manned by Huram’s men that sailed the sea. Once every three years the fleet came into port with cargoes of gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.
• Psalms 48:7With an east wind you shatter the large ships.
• Ezekiel 27:25The ships of Tarshish were the transports for your merchandise. “‘So you were filled and weighed down in the heart of the seas.

Commentaries on Isaiah 23:1

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 1The burden of Tyre - Tyre, a city on the coast of Syria, about lat. 32 N. was built two thousand seven hundred and sixty years before Christ. There were two cities of this name; one on the continent, and the other on an island, about half a mile from the shore; the city on the island was about four miles in circumference. Old Tyre resisted Nebuchadnezzar for thirteen years; then the inhabitants carried, so to speak, the city to the forementioned island…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1The burden of Tyre - (see the note at Isaiah 13:1) Howl - This is a highly poetic description of the destruction that was coming on Tyre. The ships of Tarshish traded there; and the prophet now addresses the ships, and calls upon them to lament because the commerce by which they had been enriched was to be destroyed, and they were to be thrown out of employ. Ye ships of Tarshish - (see the note at Isaiah 2:16). The Tarshish‘ here referred to, was…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 1The overthrow of Tyre. (Is. 23:1-14) It is established again. (Is. 23:15-18) Verses 1-14 Tyre was the mart of the nations. She was noted for mirth and diversions; and this made her loth to consider the warnings God gave by his servants. Her merchants were princes, and lived like princes. Tyre being destroyed and laid waste, the merchants should abandon her. Flee to shift for thine own safety; but those that are uneasy in one place, will be so in another…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1The ships of Tarshish traveled the sea between the Phoenician coast and the port of Tarshish in Spain (see Isaiah 2:16; 23:6). Word has reached them from the land of Cyprus: Cyprus was the last stop for sailors returning from Spain before their final journey to Tyre.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-18Menander, the historian, notices a siege of Tyre by Shalmaneser, about the time of the siege of Samaria. Sidon, Acco, and Old Tyre, on the mainland, were soon reduced; but New Tyre, on an island half a mile from the shore, held out for five years. Sargon probably finished the siege. Sennacherib does not, however, mention it among the cities which the Assyrian kings conquered (thirty-sixth and thirty-seventh chapters). The expression, "Chaldeans" (Is…Read the comment

Topics related to Isaiah 23:1

• Chittim
• Tarshish

In the dictionaries

• Tarshish
• Tyre
• Tyre, Tyrians
• Chittim
• Commerce
• Evil
• Isaiah
• Island; Isle
• Kittim
• Perseus

Commentaries on Isaiah 23

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings